PureInsight | November 29, 2004
[PureInsight.org]
Clarifying the Truth Face to Face
1. Why are you being persecuted?
One of the questions asked by many Americans was, "Why are you being persecuted?" At the beginning, I told them it was because there were too many people practicing Falun Gong and the number surpassed the number of members in the Chinese communist party, and the Chinese dictator Jiang persecuted Falun Gong because of jealousy. But a lot of people still couldn't understand why he would do that. Later on, when I clarified the truth to a person, I asked him a question instead. I asked, "Let me ask you a question. Why did Hitler kill so many Jews? Was there a reason for him to kill so many Jews? A person would do such a thing only if he had lost his mind." He nodded and said, "That's right! Some people are just irrational. They don't need a reason to kill people."
2. Did Dr. Charles Lee break Chinese laws?
One day, while a gentleman was watching the anti-torture exhibition, he asked me, "I've been watching you for many days. Could you explain this to me?" I told him how wonderful Falun Gong was, the persecution in China, and how an American citizen, Dr. Charles Lee, was still detained in China. He said to me, "Dr. Lee must have broken some Chinese laws." I told him, "Let me give you an example. Say that I am a good person who follows the principles of 'Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.' However, my parents and friends in China believe the propaganda against Falun Gong that is being spread by the state-run media and controlled by Jiang. They think Falun Gong practitioners are dangerous and I'm a bad person. So I went back to China to tell my parents and friends that I'm a good person. All I wanted to say is that I'm a good person who follows the principles of 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance' and please don't believe the deceitful propaganda. Just because of that I am put in jail. Could you tell me what law I have broken?" He nodded and told me, "I would like to do something to help."
3. "This persecution has changed your whole life, hasn't it?"
On one occasion, I met a man in Central Park. He seemed to know China very well and he was aware of Falun Gong as well. He asked me many questions. He said, "Currently, the economy in China is booming. If the number of middle class households in China increases, the level of freedom and democracy will rise as well. You should be patient."
I told him, "The middle class you just mentioned is just a very small part. There are a lot of people in China who don't even have enough food to eat, such as the people in rural and mountainous areas. Besides, nowadays the moral standard in China has slid down dramatically. Many people only think about pursuing money. They would go to any extent to make money. If you go to China, you would find that many people are very good at lying. Falun Dafa teaches people to follow the principles of 'Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance' and to be good people. According to the statistics released by the Chinese government in 1998, there were 70 million people practicing Falun Gong in China. With Jiang persecuting such a large group of people who want to be good persons, where will China's future be?
He nodded his head and asked me, "This organization of yours has how many people in New York?" I replied, "I don't know. I come from Canada." He continued to ask, "Then how many are there in Canada?"
I said, "I don't know either. You know Falun Gong doesn't really have an organization. Every practitioner comes and goes at will. I come to New York to clarify the truth to New Yorkers and every penny comes out of my own pocket. There are many people in New York who don't know the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution in China, so I've come to tell people about this persecution. I also want to help an American citizen, Dr. Charles Lee, who's currently imprisoned in China. In addition, I believe that a human being is entitled to his or her basic human rights. Everyday when I visit the Falun Gong website maintained by volunteers, I see brutal tortures happening in China and everyday one Falun Gong practitioner after another is being persecuted to death, and tears roll down my face. I feel it's my responsibility and duty to stop the persecution of innocent people."
He looked at me and said, "This persecution has changed your entire lifestyle, hasn't it?" I said, "Yes, in order to tell people the truth, I've been to many countries and cities, with the furthest being Iceland. In 2002, when Jiang visited Iceland, I wanted to go there to hold a peaceful appeal. I wanted to tell him to please stop the persecution of innocent people. However, I ended up being detained at the airport for 26 hours because Jiang had hired many thugs outside of China. In addition, he has also sent many spies overseas to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. I was on their blacklist. This persecution has extended overseas. A while back, a senior Chinese official visited South Africa and at that time, an Australian practitioner went there to hold a peaceful appeal, but he ended up getting shot in both of his feet. A similar incident happened in New York. The Chinese consulate hired thugs to beat Falun Gong practitioners in New York. This is also why we are here in New York to clarify the truth. New Yorkers should know the truth and they have the right to know the truth."
In the end, he shook my hand and sincerely said to me, "Good luck to all of you!"
4. Since practicing Falun Gong will result in brutal torture, why do you still persist in practicing? Why not practice another type of Qigong or switch to another hobby?
When I handed out truth-clarifying newsletters today, I met a lady who came over and said, "I work in a building next to your anti-torture exhibition. I've seen you all here for a while and I've read your flyers, I would like to ask you a question. Since practicing Falun Gong will result in brutal tortures, why do you still persist in practicing? Can't you switch to another hobby?"
I said to her, "Did you know that in China, even if you switched to another type of Qigong or another type of hobby, when the number of people gets to a certain size, they would also be persecuted. With a dictator ruling China, the place has absolutely no human rights or freedom. At the same time, from another standpoint, Falun Gong teaches us the principles of 'Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance', to be good people, and to not lie. Practitioners can't deviate from the principles of 'Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance.'"
She asked me, "Then that means Falun Gong is a religion." I said, "No, it's a form of spiritual belief. It is a belief in 'Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance.' 'Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance' are the most beautiful moral principles that we humans share, right?"
She said, "Yes."
I continued to say, "For example, when people play a game, they would want to play it well and follow the rules in order to win, right? Falun Dafa teaches us that 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance' are the principles and characteristics of the universe. It also teaches that humans were created from the universe and all living things must follow these principles and conform to the characteristics of the universe so as to live with the universe. Falun Gong practitioners realize that those who persecute Falun Gong and are against 'Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance' are destroying themselves. Therefore, as Falun Gong practitioners, we want to advocate these principles. In China, there are thousands of Falun Gong practitioners who have lost their lives because of believing in 'Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance.' If every one of the world's people would follow the principles of 'Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance' to be good people, then wouldn't you say that the world would be good?" She nodded her head.
I continued to say, "You know, before the persecution began in 1999, Falun Gong practitioners all led happy and prosperous lives. By following the principles of 'Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance' in everything we do, our lives are peaceful and serene, and we cherish and value living beings. We know how to maintain harmonious relationships with our family, friends, and co-workers. When we run into conflicts, we would first look within ourselves, search for our own faults, and always think of others. Our Teacher has taught us a perfect way to live."
In parting, she said to me happily, "I will tell all my colleagues and friends to come and learn about Falun Gong."
5. These tortures are happening in China. Why are you exhibiting the tortures here in America? What does this have to do with Americans?
We met many people asking questions like this. Below is a combination of answers by several practitioners:
Because there are many corporations in the U.S., many people are unaware of the fact that they're helping the Chinese dictator execute the persecution. Let me give you an example, in China there is a "Great Firewall of China" project. China has already spent $800 million in its early stages. Many large U.S. corporations provided equipment and funding. However, this network project has been used to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. For example, if I send my friends an E-mail containing the words "Falun Gong", it is likely that I would be tracked down by network monitoring software. Then I would probably be caught, put in jail, and suffer tortures like what you're seeing. Don't you agree that these U.S. corporations have helped the persecution inadvertently?
Speaking from another standpoint, you know that the U.S. imports many goods from China, such as the children's toys at McDonald's. These toys have very low cost because they are made by prisoners in jail. These products do not have labor costs so that's why they are so cheap. Among the prisoners, there are more than 100,000 illegally detained Falun Gong practitioners. The labors camps and prisons in China are in extremely unsanitary conditions. Strictly speaking, the products produced under these conditions are not up to sanitary standards. By giving these toys to the children in America, wouldn't you say that it affects American's next generation?
What's more, many Americans invest in China. In order for Jiang to spend large sums of funds to persecute Falun Gong, a large portion of overseas investments is used not for economic growth but for persecuting Falun Gong. To carry out the persecution, Jiang built numerous prisons and forced labor camps, established an enormous surveillance system, which includes monitoring of telephones, censoring Internet usage, and other types of surveillance to monitor every event organized by Falun Gong practitioners. If this continues, will the investors get any returns on their investments?
The persecution of Falun Gong in China has lasted for over five years. Maybe it's because of financial reasons, but the media here rarely reports on Falun Gong. This is why we have taken this approach to tell you the truth. Americans need to know the truth. You have the right to know the truth.
Dr. Martin Luther King once said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." We feel that anyone on this earth who has conscience and compassion should help stop the persecution of Falun Gong in China.
6. A Christian
There was a person who, after taking some material, asked me, "Tell me, what exactly is Falun Gong all about. Do you believe in God?" The person was a Christian. I said, "We believe that gods do exist." He then asked, "Then is Falun Gong a religion?" I said, "Falun Gong is not a religion. Falun Gong teaches us a perfect way to live and to follow the principles of 'Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance' to be good people. Through the practice of five sets of exercises, we obtain a healthy body. Regardless of whether you believe in God or not, you can still practice. You will truly benefit from it. In addition, there are no rules and no fees, and anyone can come. It doesn't matter if you believe in God or pray to God, but there's one point and that is, no matter which god you believe in, you will still get sick, right? But practicing Falun Gong allows people to have healthy bodies, and isn't it good to have healthy bodies? In addition, learning Falun Gong is absolutely free, so why not learn it?" After hearing it, he said very happily, "You've said it very well."
Translated from part 2 of: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2004/9/27/29279.html
